Since its premiere late last year, Heated Rivalry has skyrocketed to collective obsession for millions of fans around the world, and it's only going to continue as the show premieres in more territories. Thankfully, season 2 is officially on the way to continue Shane and Ilya's love story.
Even though we will be waiting a bit longer than we'd hoped for Heated Rivalry season 2, time will surely fly by as we rewatch the show, reread the books, and follow Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie to each new project along the way. While filming won't start until later this year, the stars of the series are already sharing what they hope to see for their characters in season 2.
While appearing on the Popternative podcast, Svetlana actress Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova revealed what she wants to see from her character and how that might be different from what happens in Rachel Reid's books. In particular, one of her hopes for Svetlana directly aligns with what fans have been wanting, and we're keeping our fingers crossed that it happens!
Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova hopes the girls meet in Heated Rivalry season 2
Toward the end of her appearance on Popternative, host Peter Roumeliotis asked Kharlamova her wish list for Svetlana in Heated Rivalry season 2, and like most fans, she's hoping that the women in the cast have an opportunity to meet. It's no secret that some fans have been shipping Svetlana with Rose Landry (Sophie Nélisse), but even if that doesn't happen, the characters should meet.
"What I am looking forward to, maybe if this happens, I hope some of the female characters meet each other. I don't know, I hope Svetlana maybe meets Shane. The meshing of the worlds, you know, I'm interested to see what happens in season 2," Kharlamova shared.
Since Rose is one of Shane's closest friends and Svetlana remains Ilya's closest confidante, there's a solid chance that the two characters could cross paths at some point in Heated Rivalry season 2. What a meeting of the minds that would be! However, Svetlana meeting Rose would also imply that Shane has told Rose about his relationship with Ilya, so there's an extra layer of intrigue.
As much as we want the female cast members, including Kip's friends Elena and Maria, to all meet and become friends, Svetlana meeting Shane might be one of the most personal and exciting prospects for season 2. Like the actress noted, there's some differentiation between Svetlana's character in the book and in the show, which gives the creator lots of freedom.
"Jacob [Tierney] could really change it up, so I don't know. You know, in the books, I know Svetlana and Ilya, they kind of go through a period of separation, but it is because their relationship is different in the books, and she also didn't know that he was bisexual, and all these things factor in. But in the show, she does, so I do wonder what's going to happen," Kharlamova explained.
During the first season, Svetlana played a large role in anchoring Ilya and lightly pushing him toward being with "Jane." It's unclear if she's actually aware that he's got it bad for Shane or if it's just a hunch, but she does know that she's crushing on a man. In season 2, she might or might not know that he went to the cottage, but she'll know something's up.
Her connection to Shane and Ilya's story will surely continue to be central to her character, but there's also a lot we still don't know about Svetlana. Aside from knowing a lot about hockey because of her father, we haven't seen much else about her apart from her friendship with Ilya. That's just one of the many aspects we're looking forward to exploring when season 2 finally arrives!